Family of man shot by police say he may suffer from mental illness

LAS CRUCES — A family member of the knife-wielding man shot last month by police suspected he may be suffering some form of mental illness, according to court documents.

During a January trespassing call in an upscale neighborhood near Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, a Las Cruces Police officer shot 23-year-old Benna Belfedal because, LCPD reported, he refused to drop a knife, then charged at an officer.

Less than a month before the shooting, police scuffled with Belfedal at the same home on the 500 block of Corona Del Campo during a domestic disturbance call. Belfedal, who lived at the home with his sister's family, punched two officers in the face and kicked another, according to a criminal complaint from that Dec. 19 incident.

Belfedal's brother-in-law told police investigating the first incident that he "has been acting withdrawn recently," according to the complaint. The brother-in-law noted to police that two of Belfedal's siblings had been diagnosed with mental illness.

Belfedal's sister referenced similar behavior to investigators looking into the January shooting. She described her brother as "erratic, as in not going to school" and "withdrawing" from those close to him, police reported in another criminal complaint.

On Jan. 22 police filed paperwork in Magistrate Court, charging Belfedal with two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer. Belfedal has been arraigned for the previous assault charges.

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After he was released from an El Paso hospital, officials booked Belfedal into the Doña Ana County Detention Center.

He had been there since the shooting, eventually receiving treatment for gunshot wounds to the arm and wrist, police reported. According to the criminal complaint, Belfedal refused medical treatment for the first 24 hours.

LCPD officer Ricardo Porras, a five-year veteran, was placed on standard leave after the shooting, but has since returned to duty, a police spokesman said.

Despite new charges filed against Belfedal and the reinstatement of Porras, the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

An LCPD spokesman said the Doña Ana County Officer-Involved Task Force had enough information file charges against Belfedal, but added the investigation is "far from completed."

The multi-agency task force includes LCPD, New Mexico State Police, the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department and New Mexico State University Police.

So far, the investigation into the shooting revealed that Belfedal had sneaked into his former bedroom days earlier and taken immigration papers, according to the complaint.

Belfedal returned a few days later. He fell asleep on the backyard patio, his sister told police, next to "a black pistol." While her husband asked Belfedal to leave, the woman snatched the gun and hid it in a closet.

She didn't want Belfedal to "go 'gangsta' or 'badass' on the officers," according to the complaint.

A little while later, they called police.

According to multiple references in the criminal complaint, Belfedal repeatedly told officers "no" when they demanded that he drop the knife. Moments before Porras shot him, Belfedal said he wouldn't comply because "police were going to beat him up if he put the knife down."

An LCPD supervisor that responded that day, Sgt. Paul Brock, said he aimed at and nearly shot Belfedal earlier but "Belfedal took a step back," the complaint states.

The criminal complaint did not have an account from Belfedal.

In 2007, the Sun-News reported that Belfedal won multiple prizes at a high school science and engineering fair.

James Staley may be reached at 575-541-5476. Follow him on Twitter @auguststaley